The musings of an Associate Pastor's wife, home school mom, and wanna- be decorator

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Last night, we had driven separately to church and home because of schedule conflicts.The children had driven with 2nd man’s mom (who lives in a small cottage behind our house).I’m so glad I had let them do this.Namely, because of the scene 2nd man pulled up to in front of the house.

The truck door was open wide with radio blaring and headlights pointed at the garage door.I was dancing some odd native looking jig around the driveway.“You don’t even have to explain what’s going on, I bet I can guess,” states 2nd man confidently.He was right….spider!…..big one!

Now, some think this is a silly fear and probably roll their eyes at people like me who are so scared of spiders.However, I have only learned the longer I live that there is reason to fear.I really blame it on my mother (just kidding Mom, you tried to guide me right. I just like to throw that in there for added false guilt).Actually, when I was small (in Ohio) my mother did try to protect me.A show came on TV that she told me not to watch.She was going next door to a neighbor’s house and I was to watch something else or do something else.Well, of course, I chose wrong and watched “The Kingdom of the Spiders” with William Shatner.I don’t even remember all of it except they were in Oklahoma and tarantulas were taking over the town.I remember certain scenes like a little girl on a swing set covered in spiders ahhhhh.Let me tell ya, I couldn’t even go in the bathroom without fear for months.I was scared they’d come crawling under the door and trap me.

As I grew up, I realized this was probably a senseless fear.Then…we moved to Oklahoma.One of the first kids we met in the youth department was missing the top part of his outer ear.I wondered what had happened.Well, guess what, a spider had bitten him.It was then that I learned Oklahoma is a Brown Recluse haven, not to mention the Black Widows.I had really only feared big wooly spiders up until then.That’s when I learned that the ones to fear were small and their venom was flesh eating. I’ve actually been told that tarantulas (which are out here too.) aren’t actually dangerous, they just have a painful bite.Ya well, I’m not into pain, so the fear persists.

Anyway, let me take you back to last night.When I had pulled up in the driveway, I thought I saw something hanging on the garage door that looked leggy.“Oh it’s probably just some twig or leaf stuck from the blustering wind today,” I said to myself.Then it fell off of the door and started crawling. Well, I had to make sure so I got out of the car, but then something in my body wouldn’t allow me to get too close.So as my mind was fighting my body, it came off like the little jig I described earlier.

2nd man however, saved the day.He walked up and tried to shoo it into the flowerbed.“Oh no,” I said, “I have to come out here and work tomorrow, he needs to be dead.”So 2nd man reluctantly complied and gave him the final blow…..my hero!

Now, here’s the real kicker of the night.Remember I said the radio was blaring?Well, I had been listening to Dennis Rainy’s wife, Barbara, discuss a new book she’d written.Guess what the subject was. Ok I’ll tell ya. “ Modeling courage in front of your children.”No kidding.2nd man had a heyday with that one.Truly, I deserved it. Oh, here is to the moments when God saves your children from you.I just hung my head in shame and…well… lack of courage.